Eva Cheng
Chevron Corp, the second biggest US oil company, which is competing fiercely with China National Offshore Oil Corp to take over a smaller US oil concern, UNOCAL, has been found to have made big donations to vocal CNOOC critics, some of them after the takeover battle began.
According to the July 23 Dow Jones wire service, Republican member of Congress Richard Pombo, a leading CNOOC bid critic who chairs the House Resources Committee, has received US$21,500 from Chevron since 1989, including $2000 disbursed on June 29.
The July 23 San Francisco Chronicle reported that fellow CNOOC critics in Congress Kevin Brady (Republican), Kent Conrad (Democrat) and James Inhofe (Republican) received $1000 each from Chevron on June 29. "All had received contributions from Chevron in the past", the Chronicle added.
The Chronicle also reported that Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein, who on July 22 called on the secretaries of defence, energy and homeland security to review any deal between CNOOC and UNOCAL, has received about $30,800 from Chevron since 1989.
Quoting figures from the Center for Responsive Politics, the Chronicle pointed out that Chevron donated just under $499,000 to individual candidates in the 2004 election cycle and $1.3 million in 2002.
According to Dow Jones, Pombo co-authored a letter to President George Bush in mid-June seeking a federal national security review of any bid by CNOOC. In July, he proposed an amendment to the energy bill mandating such a review.
Conrad co-authored a July 11 letter to the Bush administration questioning whether Chinese government financial support for the CNOOC bid violated World Trade Organisation rules.
Inhofe moved in Congress on July 21 that the interagency Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States consider "energy and economic security" on top of "national security" when it vets foreign takeovers of US companies.
These donations at such a sensitive time have raised a lot of eyebrows. In response, reported the San Francisco Chronicle, Pombo spokesperson Brian Kennedy said only that neither Pombo nor his staff "has asked for or received any help or guidance from Chevron".
Chevron spokespeople also denied that the donations have anything to do with the bid for UNOCAL, saying that, while some contributions were received after the bidding war began, the company had planned the donations in April.
April happens to be the month that Chevron first made public its $16.5 billion bid for UNOCAL. CNOOC announced its rival $18.5 billion bid on June 23.
Chevron sweetened its offer to $17 billion on July 19. The UNOCAL board has recommended shareholders accept the offer. Chevron is offering to pay partly with shares and some cash while CNOOC is offering only cash. The shareholders will decide on August 10.
From Green Left Weekly, August 3, 2005.
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